I am a story teller. I like to tell stories with paint and brush. Some of my stories
are about the history of the natural world, carefully researched and based on historical
fact.

Recently I’ve decided I can also tell stories with my portrait commissions. Imagine
your child portrayed in their own make-believe world. Visit my artist’s journal page
and read about my first make-believe childhood portrait titled: “Andy’s Dream.” A
variation of this idea could also apply to adult portraits. After all, adults have
dreams too!

Come visit my world as I take you back through time to see the natural world of long
ago or into the fantasy world of a young child’s mind.

I have many wonderful and colorful stories to tell!

Here’s a link to a Cincinnati Enquirer article about my Village of Mariemont 17th
Century project!

Nature’s Past, a Historical Perspective

Imagine billions, yes billions, of migrating passenger pigeons so numerous they could
eclipse the sun for three days as they passed overhead. Parakeets with brilliantly
colored plumage contrasted against the pure, white snow of the forest. Imagine centuries-old
forests with some trees so immense that men and horses could find shelter inside.
There were places in the Eastern American Wilderness where the forest canopy was
so thick the sunlight couldn’t reach the woodland floor. These forests were known
to the first European settlers as “the shades of death.”

This is what the first European settlers saw and experienced as they traveled west
through the Appalachian Mountains and beyond. But a little known fact is that this
vast wilderness was not a wilderness at all. Those same Eastern Woodland Indians
had been altering their environment for centuries to create more sources of food.
They did this by burning or girdling some forest trees to kill them and re-planting
with more fruit and nut-bearing trees. They created extensive prairies that made
game easier to hunt in open sunny areas. This also allowed a greater diversity of
plants and animals to thrive there. By these practices they lived sustainably with
nature by creating more sources of nutritious food for themselves as well as the
wildlife. They not only believed that the land and all living things were sacred
but were also a treasure in trust. All of nature was given to them to use wisely
and well so it could be passed down to future generations. Only now in the 21st
century are we starting to embrace this concept.

Choctawhatchee Wetland, Florida ancient home of the proud Creek Nation

All images and artworks represented on this site are copyrighted by Mary Louise Holt
and are not to be reproduced without written permission by the artist.

“Where the Lilies Cry”, a book of historical fact/fiction about the Shawnee of the
Ohio Valley includes the paintings titled “They Loved Their Children Too” and “First
Signs of Spring” on the front and back covers!